После работы мне хочется снять обувь и надеть тапочки.

Because после requires the genitive case.

• работа = work
• работы = of work / after work

So:

• после работы = after work

This is a very common pattern in Russian:

• после урока = after the lesson
• после обеда = after lunch
• после фильма = after the movie

So the form работы is there because of the preposition после.

Both can be translated as I want, but they are not exactly the same.

• я хочу = I want
• мне хочется = I feel like / I have a desire to / I’d like to

Хочется is softer and more emotional. It often describes a feeling or urge rather than a direct, firm wish.

Compare:

• Я хочу снять обувь. = I want to take off my shoes.
  More direct.
• Мне хочется снять обувь. = I feel like taking off my shoes.
  More natural for a passing feeling or comfort-related desire.

In this sentence, мне хочется sounds very natural, because after work the speaker has a strong feeling of wanting comfort.

Because хочется is used in an impersonal construction.

Literally, мне хочется is something like:

• to me, it is desired
• or more naturally, I feel like...

In Russian, some feelings and states are expressed this way:

• мне холодно = I am cold
• мне грустно = I am sad
• мне хочется спать = I feel sleepy / I feel like sleeping

So мне is the person experiencing the feeling, and that person goes in the dative.

Because хочется does not need a normal subject in the nominative.

This is an impersonal sentence. The idea is not I desire, but rather there is a desire for me or I feel like...

So Russian says:

• мне хочется = I feel like...

not

• я хочется ✘

That would be ungrammatical.

This kind of structure is very common in Russian and is worth getting used to.

Russian often omits possessive words like my, your, his, when the owner is obvious from context.

Here, if someone says:

• мне хочется снять обувь

it is naturally understood as take off my shoes/footwear, not someone else’s.

Russian does this very often with:

• body parts
• clothes
• personal belongings

For example:

• Я мыл руки. = I washed my hands.
• Он надел куртку. = He put on his jacket.
• Сними обувь. = Take off your shoes.

You can say свою обувь, but that adds emphasis or contrast:

• снять свою обувь, а не чужую = take off my own shoes, not someone else’s

They are opposites in this sentence:

• снять = to take off / remove
• надеть = to put on

So:

• снять обувь = take off footwear
• надеть тапочки = put on slippers

These are very common verbs for clothes and accessories:

• снять пальто = take off a coat
• надеть шапку = put on a hat

Because надеть is used for putting on an item of clothing, while одеть usually means to dress a person.

The basic distinction is:

• надеть что? = put on what?
• одеть кого? = dress whom?

So:

• надеть тапочки = put on slippers
• одеть ребёнка = dress a child

A famous learner rule is:

• Надеть одежду, одеть Надежду.

In other words:

• надеть → clothing/item
• одеть → person

So надеть тапочки is the correct choice.

Because обувь and тапочки work differently as nouns.

Обувь

Обувь means footwear as a general category. It is a singular collective noun in Russian.

So Russian says:

• снять обувь = take off footwear / shoes

Even though English often uses a plural idea like shoes, Russian uses singular обувь.

Тапочки

Тапочки means slippers, and that is normally used in the plural, because slippers come as a pair.

So:

• тапочка = one slipper
• тапочки = slippers

This is similar to how English usually says slippers, not a slipper, unless you mean one.

It is the accusative plural.

The verb надеть takes a direct object:

• надеть что? = put on what?

So тапочки is in the accusative.

However, because тапочки is an inanimate plural noun, its accusative form is the same as its nominative form:

• nominative plural: тапочки
• accusative plural: тапочки

That is why it looks like the dictionary form.

Because the speaker is thinking about single, completed actions:

• first, take off the footwear
• then, put on the slippers

In Russian:

• снимать / надевать = imperfective
• снять / надеть = perfective

The perfective forms fit well here because the idea is to do these actions completely after work.

So:

• снять обувь = take the footwear off completely
• надеть тапочки = put the slippers on completely

If you used the imperfective forms here, it would sound less natural in this context, because the sentence is about a specific desired result, not an ongoing process.

Yes. Russian word order is flexible.

The sentence:

• После работы мне хочется снять обувь и надеть тапочки.

is a very neutral, natural order.

But you could also say:

• Мне хочется после работы снять обувь и надеть тапочки.
• Снять обувь и надеть тапочки мне хочется после работы.

These versions shift emphasis slightly, but the basic meaning stays the same.

Russian word order often depends on what the speaker wants to emphasize, not only on grammar.

Yes. Тапочки sounds very normal, warm, and homey.

It comes from тапочки, a common everyday word for house slippers. It often gives a cozy feeling, especially in a sentence about coming home after work.

A related word is:

• тапки = slippers

But тапки is often a bit more colloquial or casual.
Тапочки can sound slightly softer or more affectionate.

So in this sentence, тапочки fits the comfortable after-work mood very well.